Thursday, October 10, 2013

Are 0% Credit Card Offers Good For You?

By Wayne Ball


If you are looking to apply for a credit card, you have certainly seen the large amount of 0% credit card offers. These cards allow you to pay back the principal balance on your credit card interest free for a certain specified period of time. While these kinds of cards can be useful to some people, they can also have hidden traps. Read below to find out if an interest free credit card is right for you.

Make sure to set a budget before applying for a credit card or loan. Credit is not free money. By being responsible and not spending more than you make most months, credit cards and loans can be good tools. However, not being responsible can lead to financial ruin.

Finding out more about the interest free time period is critical. Once you have figured this out, you can compare to your budget and see how it would help to save. You should always consider the risks and cost of transferring other debts to a new card. Making sure you are aware of all the fine print is important to avoid possible future financial problems.

Also, be sure to check out the interest rate that will be charged once your interest free period is over. Often, credit card companies will offer an interest free period for awhile, only to start charging ridiculously high interest rates after the grace period.

Some credit card companies have low tolerance for late payments and will charge interest as soon as you are late on a payment. Take this into consideration when shopping for a zero interest card. Make sure to check out the credit card's late payment policy and consider whether or not you will be able to consistently make payments on time.

Another concern are monthly fees and transfer costs. Consolidating and transferring other debts to a zero interest card may not be worth it if there are expensive monthly fees or transfer fees.

Keep in mind that with any credit card comes great responsibility. Try to pay off your balance every month if possible. If you are trying to get out of debt, budget to spend less than you make every month and pay down your balance as quickly as you can.

Using 0% credit card offers can be financially helpful. However, you should know the potential dangers with credit cards and be sure not to take on more debt than you will ever be able to pay off.




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